Metzeler Sportec™ M9 RR, The New Supersports Tyre To Face Difficult Challenges

METZELER has always been a leading brand in technological innovation, performance research and meeting the most challenging quality standards. Since its inception, the brand has consistently developed products to meet the growing expectations of the most demanding riders.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR is the latest supersports tyre of the manufacturer and is undoubtedly among the most anticipated products of all those motorcyclists who in recent years have appreciated the characteristics of its renowned predecessor SPORTEC™ M7 RR. It is designed for owners of supersports and naked bikes with a sporty riding style, that use their bikes every day and in all weather conditions: from the urban jungle to the fast runs of the weekend excursions.

The name SPORTEC™ M9 RR consolidates the technological tradition of METZELER: SPORTEC™ identifies the supersports road tyres of the METZELER portfolio while the RR suffix – acronym for Road Racing – refers to the iconic competitions such as the Tourist Trophy Isle of Man, won in its 2019 edition on METZELER RACETEC™ RR Slick tyres. METZELER has historically used road racing as a testing ground to validate the peak performance and versatility of its products thanks to the wide range of operating conditions that can be faced during these events.

When it comes to road racing, maximum tyre performance is required across an extremely wide range of asphalt and temperature conditions. Similarly, SPORTEC™ M9 RR is designed to deliver performance also in challenging conditions on road: a wide range of asphalts and temperatures, dry or wet conditions. Hence comes the claim chosen to accompany the introduction of the tyre SPORTEC™ M9 RR: RIDE THE UNEXPECTED.

SPORTEC M9 RR & BMW S 1000 RR

Features and benefits of SPORTEC™ M9 RR

The main benefits are:

• a high level of grip thanks to the use of two-compound scheme using both Full Silica at the front and rear tyre. The compounds work in combination with the central tread pattern to ensure traction and directionality in the straight. Slick shoulders provide high levels of grip and lateral thrust at maximum lean angle on a wide spectrum of asphalts;

• an excellent handling achieved thanks to an innovative structure that can improve the response of the tyre, depending on the use: comfort and riding pleasure at low speed, reactivity and precision at a higher speed;

• a high level of wet grip made possible by the characteristics of the Full Silica compounds and their construction scheme, which also ensure a quick warm-up even on wet and cold roads.

THE TYRE IN DETAILS

The tread compound

Both the front and rear tyre of SPORTEC™ M9 RR are equipped with Full Silica shoulder compounds derived from racing-rain technology, refined to stabilise their behaviour at high temperatures, and newly formulated Full Silica central compounds.

SPORTEC M9 RR & TRIUMPH Speed Triple RS

The rear tyre compounds are arranged using a Cap & Base scheme that consists in overlaying the two lateral bands in soft compound, which ensure grip when cornering, to a layer of harder compound that ensures constant performance and thermal balance. The latter compound also forms the central band of the tyre for about 50mm, equal to 25% of the entire section, to improve mileage performance. The silica content in the central band of the rear has increased by 24% compared to SPORTEC M7™ RR.

The front tyre uses the same compounds as the rear to guarantee a homogeneous response and a perfect pairing between the two tyres. The central compound makes up about 33% of the tread section.

Full Silica compounds are used to improve the warm-up time, the level of mechanical grip on a wide range of asphalts and the chemical grip in wet conditions, benefiting the use on roads with irregular asphalt and in any weather condition.

In addition to METZELER’s experience in materials technology, the key to this technological breakthrough also lies in the CCM, an acronym for Compound Continuous Mixing, an exclusive patented mixing processcapable of maximising the dispersion and homogeneity of the components in the polymer matrix. The resins used in combination with silica give the final formulation a stable behaviour in a wide range of temperatures, from the lower ones of the first seasonal outings to the extreme ones reached during a summer session on track.

SPORTEC M9 RR & BMW S 1000 RR

The tread pattern

The tread design recognizes the features of the Pi – π – that, besides being distinctive of the SPORTEC™ product family, also have a functional purpose.

The grooves of the Greek Pi allow a certain degree of mobility to the portion of the tread they delimit, resulting in an improvement of the warm-up time even at low temperatures. They also serve to maximise the volume of water evacuated when riding in the wet.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR inherits the RACETEC™ RR central claw grooves from the technology developed for Road Races, in which it has gained recent victories at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy and North West 200. These details in the central band contribute to directional stability on the straight and participate in the evacuation of water in adverse weather conditions.

The tread pattern is designed for excellent water evacuation up to a 30-degree lean angle, while beyond this point the shoulder reaches void/fill ratios close to those of a Race Replica tyre. The shoulders of SPORTEC™ M9 RR are more slick than those of its predecessor, in order to improve support and lateral thrust at maximum lean anglewhere the function of water evacuation is no longer necessary.

SPORTEC M9 RR & BMW S 1000 RR

The Structure

METZELER engineers have designed for SPORTEC™ M9 RR a rayon structure that is 6% stiffer than the one of its predecessor, it is characterised by a lower density and the use of a greater quantity of rubber compound. The damping capacities of the latter improve the riding feeling, while when riding at a higher pace the benefits of this structure are high thrust values and greater responsiveness and driving precision.

The tyre range

SPORTEC™ M9 RR tyre range includes the following sizes: